USA > Virginia > Washington County > Washington County > History of southwest Virginia, 1746-1786, Washington County, 1777-1870 > Part 14
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79
The victory gained at Point Pleasant on the 10th of October put a stop to all organized raids upon the frontier settlements, for the time being. Upon the return of the Fincastle troops from the expe- dition to Point Pleasant, the free-holders of Fincastle county as- sembled at the Lead Mines and drafted an address to the Hon. John, Earl of Dunmore, thanking him heartily for his exertions in
* About six miles east of Lebanon on North Fork of Cedar Creek, on land of the Stuart Land & Cattle Company.
158
Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786.
their behalf in the late war, and expressed the wish that the late disturbances might be amicably settled.
On the 14th day of April, 1774, Dr. Thomas Walker conveyed to James Piper 365 acres of land on a branch of the Holston river called Wolf Hill Creek; on the same day, he conveyed to Alexander Breckenridge 360 acres on Wolf Hill Creek, to Samuel Briggs 313 acres on Wolf Hill Creek, alias Castle's Creek, to Joseph Black, 305 acres on Eighteen Mile Creek (this being the name of the small creek that flows through Abingdon) and to Andrew Colvill, 324 acres on Wolf Hill Creek. The persons above named were the first settlers in the vicinity of Abingdon.
In the spring of the year 1774, the free-holders of Fincastle county met at the Lead Mines, their courthouse, and elected two members of the Virginia House of Burgesses to represent Fincastle county, viz. :
William Christian,
Stephen Trigg.
It may not be amiss at this point to state briefly the laws gov- erning the qualifications required of the citizens of Fincastle coun- ty to vote and hold office, in this, the last year that the Colony of Virginia adhered to the crown of England. The freeholders of every county possessed the liberty of electing two of the most able and fit men, being freeholders and qualified to vote, to represent their county in all the General Assemblies. The electors or voters were required to own an estate of freehold for his own life or the life of another, or other greater estate in at least fifty acres of land, if no settlement be made upon it, or twenty-five acres with a planta- tion and house thereon at least twelve feet square, said property be- ing in the county in which the electors offered to vote. The sheriff was required to deliver to the minister and reader of every parish in his county a copy of the writ of election, and, upon the back of every such writ, he was required to endorse the fact that said elec- tion would be held at the courthouse in his county upon a day appointed by him. And the minister or reader was required to publish the same immediately after divine services, every Sunday between the receipt of said writ and the day of election, under heavy penalty for failure to do so. It was further provided that every freeholder actually residing in the county should per- sonally appear at the courthouse on the day fixed and give his vote, upon the penalty of forfeiting two hundred pounds of tobacco, if he
159
Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786.
failed to vote. The sheriff was required to appoint fit persons, and these persons after being duly sworn, were required to enter the names of every candidate in a distinct column, and the name of every freeholder giving his vote, under the name of the person voted for, all of which was required to be done in the presence of the candidates or their agents, and upon the close of the polls the sheriff was ordered to proclaim the names of the successful candi- dates. And it was further provided, that any person who should directly or indirectly, except in his usual and ordinary course of hospitality, in his own house, give, present, or allow to any person or persons, having voice or vote in such elections, any money, meat, drink, entertainment or provisions, or make any present, gift, re- ward, or entertainment, or any promise, agreement, obligation, or engagement, to any person, etc., shall be declared guilty of bribery and corruption,* and rendered incapable to sit, or vote, or to hold office."
Thus it will be seen that the laws were very strict in regard to the manner of holding elections, and it cannot be doubted, that an elec- tion held under such laws would be honest and would express the will of the people. Our present law-makers might well learn a lesson from the example set them by the law-makers of the Colony of Virginia, under the rule of King George III.
Early in the history of Fincastle county, the House of Burgesses enacted a law which provided, "that from and after the first day of December next, the inhabitants of the said county of Fincastle shall discharge all fees due from them to the secretary and other officers in said county at the rate of 8s and 4 pence, for every hun- dredweight of gross tobacco.
The principle asserted by the regulators at the Alamance had spread among the American colonies, until, at the time mentioned, it seemed to permeate the whole American body politic, and, on the other hand, the British Parliament had repealed all the port duties imposed at their session in 1767, except the duty of three pence a pound on tea, which was continued for the purpose of maintaining the principle contended for by the British Parliament, to-wit: that they had the right to tax the American Colonists without giving them representation, and not for the purpose of revenue only.
*8 Hen. S., page 526.
160
Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786.
The American Colonists were opposed to the principle of taxation without representation, and they opposed a small tax as bitterly as they opposed the port duties of 1767. The collection of the tax was resisted at every point, and, at Boston, the cargoes of tea were thrown into the sea. Whereupon the British Parliament passed a bill closing Boston Harbor, upon which information great indig- nation pervaded the entire colonies. The House of Burgesses of Virginia observed the first day of the operation of the bill closing Boston Harbor, as a fast day, and declared : "That any attack made on one of our sister colonies to compel submission to arbitrary taxes is an attack made on all British America, and threatened ruin to the rights of all, unless the united wisdom of the whole be applied." And they proposed. a general Congress to take sych action as the united interests of the American Colonies might require. This suggestion, made by the House of Burgesses, was accepted by all the colonies and the first Continental Congress met in Philadelphia, on the 5th day of September, 1774, just one month and five days preceding the battle of Point Pleasant.
The officers and men under command of Lord Dunmore, hearing of the action of the first Continental Congress, met and adopted a resolution, which was as follows :
"Resolved, That as the love of liberty and attachment to the real interests and just rights of America outweigh every other consideration, they would exert every power within them for the defence of American Liberty and for the support of her just rights and privileges ; not in any precipitate, riotous, or tumultu- ous manner, but when regularly called forth by the unanimous & voice of our countrymen."
THE REVOLUTION.
The period with which we now purpose to deal will be ever remembered, by reason of the production of one of those master- pieces of political evolution which mould the world and fix the destiny of mankind, an event unsurpassed in the history of the world; the founding of the American Republic. In dealing with this subject, we deem it necessary to an intelligent understanding of the motives and actions of the men of that day, to give, with some particularity, the story complete, from its inception to its culmina-
-
161
Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786.
tion, recognizing that a story partly told is misleading, and the true merits of a controversy are oftentimes obscured by a mutilated statement, or a half-told tale. For ten years preceding the resort of the American Colonies to extreme measures, a bitterly contested controversy constantly engaged the attention of the British Gov- ernment and the American Colonies, and it has been well said by one of the fathers of our country, that the "Revolution was fin- ished before the war was commenced." Indeed, it seems to the stu- dent of our early history at this distance from the time of the occurrences of which we are now writing, that our early fathers in leaving their homes, the highlands of Scotland, the bogs of Ireland, the fertile lands of old England, were imbued with exceedingly un- favorable feelings toward the land of their nativity. They were devoid of that affection which usually accompanies the wanderer from his native home, and it is certain that they lost no opportunity to instil their prejudices and dislikes into the minds of their chil- dren and neighbors, and to resist the operation and execution of the laws enacted by the British Parliament and the rules attempted to be enforced by the Governors of the Colonies. This spirit was evidenced in old Virginia as early as 1666, at the time of Bacon's Rebellion. This spirit, so prevalent among the English colonies in America. can be attributed to the fact that a large majority of the early emigrants were driven from their homes by the tyranny of the English Government, and, after establishing themselves in this country, their hatred was accentuated by the arbitrary conduct of the English ministry, in pursuing a contracted policy, the natural result of which was to abridge the liberties and property rights of the colonies. A large majority of the early emigrants to the Amer- ican colonies were inspired by that spirit of liberty that has been so much cherished in the history of our country. They were be- lievers in the principles which prevailed at the time of the execu- tion of Charles the First. Many of them were the followers of Oliver Cromwell, and detested the arbitrary conduct of the King and the rulers of England, and it was from this cause that they left their native country to seek a home in the wilderness, with the deter- mination never to submit to the oppressions of their native land.
Many of the early emigrants found their homes among the high mountains and the pathless deserts of the new continent, the nursery of the spirit of freedom. Among the early emigrants to
162
Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786.
this new country were numerous "Dissenters," a class of people who worshipped God according to their own reason and conscience, men who acknowledged no authority but that which had been estab- lished by their own sanction and consent, and this applied to their religious principles as well as to their ideas of government. They did not admit the right of the British government to compel them either to attend or to support the established church.
They were principally from the middle classes, and neither ad- mitted nor countenanced any claims to honor or distinction, save such as arose from the exercise of industry, talent, or virtue. In their native country they had been tenants, and did not regard themselves superior to the lowest of their fellow citizens; in their new homes they were freeholders, and believed themselves equal to the best, and, naturally, they soon detested that idea which prevailed in the English government, in accordance with which individuals pretended to be their natural rulers and superiors.
During the French-Indian war, the British Ministry proposed a union of the Colonies for the purpose of repelling the French en- croachments on the western waters; and, pursuant to this proposi- tion, the Governor and leading members of the provincial assem- blies convened at Albany, N. Y., in the year 1754. This Assembly was unanimously of the opinion, that the Colonies were able to defend themselves from the encroachments of the French without assistance from the English Government. They proposed "that a Grand Council should be formed of members to be chosen by the provincial Assemblies, which Council, together with a governor to be appointed by the Crown, should be authorized to make general laws, and, also, to raise money from all the Colonies for their com- mon defence." This proposition was received by the British Min- istry with displeasure, and, in answer thereto, the ministry submit- ted a counter-proposition, which was as follows: "That the Gov- ernors of all the Colonies, attended by one or two members of their respective Councils, should, from time to time, concert measures for the whole of the Colonies, erect posts and raise troops, with a power to draw upon the British treasury, in the first instance, for the expense, which expense was to be reimbursed by a tax to be laid on the Colonies by an act of Parliament."
It will be well to observe that thus early began the contentions between the British Parliament and the English Colonies ; the Brit-
163
Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786.
ish Ministry seeking to lodge the taxing power in the hands of the British Parliament, a body in which the American Colonies were not permitted to have representation, whereas, the Colonies insisted that the taxing power should be vested in their local institutions.
This proposition upon the part of the British Ministry gave great dissatisfaction to the people of the Colonies, as they objected to being taxed by a body in which they had no representation, but no further action was taken in regard to the matter, until the conclu- sion of the war, in 1763.
Previously to the year 1764, when the British Parliament desired a contribution from the American Colonies, the object was accom- plished by a simple requisition upon the legislatures of the several Colonies for the sum needed and, in every instance, the requisition had been honored and the money furnished with a willing hand. But, in this year, the British Parliament sought to obtain from the American Colonies by a speedier method the taxes desired.
A measure was proposed in the British Parliament by the Pre- mier, George Grenville, in the year 1764, having for its object, "the raising of a revenue in America," the entire proceeds of which were to go into the exchequer of Great Britain.
We have before mentioned the dissatisfaction produced by the proposition to have the British Parliament levy a tax upon the American Colonies, when the entire proceeds of the tax were to be used for the development and the protection of the Colonies, and the reader can well imagine the alarm and indignation that pre- vailed in the American Colonies at the suggestion of the British Premier, that the British Parliament should lay a tax upon the American Colonies, the entire proceeds of which were to go into the exchequer of Great Britain.
Pursuant to the foregoing proposition, Mr. Grenville, on the 10th of March, 1264, reported a resolution imposing certain "stamp duties" on the colonies, with the request that it should not be acted upon till the next session of the Parliament. This gave the agents of the colonies in England an opportunity to transmit copies of this resolution to the assemblies of the several colonies.
At the time of the receipt of this information the Virginia House of Burgesses was in session, and immediately appointed a committee to prepare an address to the King of Great Britain and to the two houses of the British Parliament. We here give the
164
Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786.
several addresses in full as prepared by this committee and re- ported to the House of Burgesses "To the King's most excellent Majesty."
"Most gracious Sovereign,
"We, your Majesty's dutiful and loyal subjects, the Council and Burgesses of your ancient Colony and dominion of Virginia, now met in General Assembly, beg leave to assure your Majesty of our firm and inviolable attachment to your sacred person and gov- ernment; and, as your faithful subjects here, have at all times been zealous to demonstrate this truth by a ready compliance with the royal requisitions during the late war, by which a heavy oppressive debt of near half a million hath been incurred, so at this time they implore permission to approach the throne with humble confidence, and to entreat that your Majesty will be gra- ciously pleased to protect your people of this Colony in the en- joyment of their ancient and inestimable right of being gov- erned by such laws, respecting their internal polity and taxation, as are derived from their own consent, with the approbation of their Sovereign or his substitute; a right which, as men, and descendants of BRITONS, they have ever quietly possessed, since first, by royal permission and encouragement, they left the mother kingdom to extend its commerce and dominion.
"Your Majesty's dutiful subjects of Virginia most humbly and unanimously hope that this invaluable birthright, descended to them from their ancestors, and in which they have been protected by your royal predecessors, will not be suffered to receive an injury, under the reign of your sacred Majesty, already so illustriously distinguished by your gracious attention to the liberties of the people.
"That your Majesty may long live to make nations happy, is the ardent prayer of your faithful subjects, the Council and Bur- gesses of Virginia."
The memorial to the House of Lords was as follows :
"To the right honorable the Lord's Spiritual and Temporal, in Parliament assembled; the Memorial of the Council and Bur- gresses of Virginia, now met in General Assembly humbly rep- resents,
"That your memorialists hope an application to your lordships, the fixed and hereditary guardians of British liberty, will not be
165
Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786.
thought improper at this time, when measures are proposed sub- versive, as they conceive, of that freedom which all men, especially those who derive their constitution from Britain, have a right to enjoy ; and they flatter themselves that your lordships will not look upon them as objects so unworthy your attention as to regard any impropriety in the form or manner of their application for your lordship's protection of their just and undoubted right as Britons.
"It cannot be presumption in your memorialists to call them- selves by this distinguished name, since they are descended from Britons who left their native country to extend its territory and dominion and who, happily for Briton, and as your memorialists once thought, for themselves too, effected this purpose. As our ancestors brought with them every right and privilege they could with justice claim in their mother kingdom, their descendants may conclude they cannot be deprived of those rights without injustice.
"Your memorialists conceive it to be a fundamental principle of the British constitution, without which freedom can no where exist. that the people are not subject to any taxes but such as are laid on them by their own consent, or by those who are legally appointed to represent them ; property must become too precarious for the genius of a free people, which can be taken from them at the will of others who cannot know what taxes such people can bear, or the easiest mode of raising them : and who are not under that restraint which is the greatest security against a burthensome taxation, when the representatives themselves must be affected by every tax imposed on the people.
"Your memorialists are therefore led into an humble confidence that your lordships will not think any reason sufficient to support such a power in the British Parliament, where the Colonies can- not be represented : a power never before constitutionally assumed, and which, if they have a right to exercise it on any occasion, must necessarily establish this melancholy truth, that the inhabitants of the Colonies are the slaves of Britons, from whom they are descended, and from whom they might expect every indulgence that the obligations of interest and affection can entitle them to.
"Your memorialists have been invested with the right of faxing their own people from the first establishment of a regular govern- ment in the Colony, and requisitions have been constantly made
166
Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786.
to them by their sovereigns on all occasions when the assist- ance of the Colony was thought necessary to preserve the British interest in America; from whence they must conclude, they can- not now be deprived of a right they have so long enjoyed and which they have never forfeited.
"The expenses incurred during the last war, in compliance with the demands on this Colony by our late and present most gracious Sovereigns, have involved us in a debt of near half a million, a debt not likely to decrease under the continued expense we are at in providing for the security of the people against the incursions of our savage neighbors, at a time when the low state of our staple commodity, the total want of specie and the late restrictions upon the trade of the Colonies, render the circumstances of the people extremely distressful; and which, if taxes are accumulated upon them by the British Parliament, will make them truly deplorable.
"Your memorialists cannot suggest to themselves any reason why they should not still be trusted with the property of their peo- ple, with whose abilities and the least burthensome mode of taxing (with great deference to the superior wisdom of Parliament) they must be best acquainted.
Your memorialists hope they shall not be suspected of being actuated on this occasion by any principles but those of the purest loyalty and affection, as they have always endeavored by their con- duct to demonstrate that they considered their connexion with Great Britain, the seat of liberty, as their greatest happiness.
"The duty they owe to themselves, and their posterity lays your memorialists under the necessity of endeavoring to establish their Constitution upon its proper foundation ; and they do most hum- bly pray your lordships to take this subject into your consideration, with the attention that is due to the well being of the Colonies, on which the prosperity of Great Britain does, in a great measure, depend."
And the remonstrance to the House of Commons was this :
"To the honorable Knights, Citizens and Burgesses of Great Brit- ain in Parliament assembled :
"The remonstrance of the Council and Burgesses of Virginia.
"It appearing by the printed votes of the House of Commons of Great Britain, in Parliament assembled, that in a committee of the whole House, the 17th day of March last, it was resolved, that
.
167
Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786.
towards defending, protecting and securing the British Colonies and Plantations in America, it may be proper to charge certain stamp duties in the said Colonies and Plantations; and it being apprehended that the same subject, which was then declined, may be resumed and further pursued in a succeeding session, the Coun- cil and Burgesses of Virginia, met in the General Assembly, judge it their indispensable duty, in a respectful manner, but with decent firmness, to remonstrate against such a measure, that at least a cession of those rights, which in their opinion must be infringed by that procedure, may not be inferred from their silence at so important a crisis.
"They conceive it is essential to British liberty, that laws, impos- ing taxes on the people, ought not to be made without the consent of representatives chosen by themselves ; who at the same time that they are acquainted with the circumstances of their constituents, sustain a portion of the burthen laid on them. The privileges inherent in the persons who discovered and settled these regions, could not be renounced nor forfeited by their removal hither, not as vagabonds or fugitives, but licensed and encouraged by their Prince and animated with a laudable desire of enlarging the British dominion and extending its commerce; on the contrary, it was secured to them and their descendants, with all other rights and immunities of British subjects, by a Royal Charter which hath been invariably recognized and confirmed by his Majesty and his predecessors, in their commissions to the several Governors, granting a power and prescribing a form of legislation, according to which, laws for the administration of justice and the welfare and good government of the Colony have been hitherto enacted by the Governor, Council and General Assembly, and to them, requisitions and applications for supplies have been directed by the Crown. As an instance of the opinion which former Sovereigns entertained of these rights and privileges, we beg leave to refer to the three Acts of the General Assembly passed in the thirty-second year of the reign of King Charles II, one of which is entitled 'An Act for raising a public revenue for the better support of the government of his Majesty's Colony of Virginia,' imposing several duties for that purpose, which, being thought absolutely necessary, were pre- pared in England and sent over by their then governor, the Lord Culpeper, to be passed by the General Assembly, with a full power
168
Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786.
to give the royal assent thereto, and which were accordingly passed, after several amendments were made to them here; thus tender was his Majesty of the rights of his American subjects; and the remonstrants do not discern by what distinction they can be deprived of that sacred birthright and most valuable inheritance by their fellow subjects, nor with what propriety they can be taxed or affected in their estates, by the Parliament, wherein they are not, and indeed cannot, constitutionally be represented.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.